Thread by @michaelharriot

I thought I’d answer the numerous emails & DM inquiries bc it seems like a lot of people with American flags emojis in their profile pic are very interested in hearing a response.

Here’s why I haven’t “politicized” or condemned shootings by gangbangers or Black guys

A thread:

First of all, I'm lactose intolerant.

Every time I go to McDonalds, I tell them that I don't want cheese on my Quarter Pounder AT LEAST 3 times. It's not because I like repeating myself, it's because 50% of the time, they will do it REGARDLESS.

This never happens at BK.

Now, I don't think BK hates me. I don't think Mcdonald's loves me. I don't even think Mickey Ds has better burger fixers. There's a very good reason why this happens.

See, the default Whopper does not come with cheese. If you want cheese, you have to tell them to add it.

The default Quarter Pounder comes with cheese and you have to tell them NOT to add it. Because Mcdonald's employees are so used to slapping cheese on everything, they get a LOT "no cheese" orders wrong.

But here is the thing. BK rarely screws up an "add cheese" order.

WHY?

It's simple.

See, because SO MANY people like cheese on their order, BK will ask: "would you like to add cheese?"

Even when they screw up, a person who wants cheese will STILL eat a "no cheese" burger. It's less satisfying but still edible.

But I CAN'T eat burgers w/ cheese

Now, what does this have to do with me ignoring the race of mass shooters?

Well, nothing actually.

But some of the criticism is right, I MOSTLY tweet about crime when it's about race. You might call that race-baiting but it is actually an effective crime-fighting strategy

No, I am not Batman.

Criminologists, sociologists & people who KNOW things understand crime is mostly a socioeconomic problem. So, instead of condemning random Black robberies, I condemn poverty, the education disparities & the wealth gap that causes it.

So I rarely tweet about Black drug dealers OR the white kids who buy that dope. I know tweets about drive-bys won't stop Black-on-Black crime Just like I know tweeting about a white housewife killing her husband for insurance money won't stop white-on-white crime WHICH IS HIGHER

I don't even condemn white terrorists. I condemn the SYSTEM that allows it to happen.

I don't have to condemn gang violence in Chicago bc there is a whole infrastructure that uses data, technology and community engagement to stop gangs.

And gang members rarely listen to tweets

We don't do that with violent white supremacists. Imagine if police kept a database like they do with Black gang members.

Imagine if a news outlet was talking about replacement theory 5 years ago. What if we used DATA & weren't afraid to call out the real terrorists
Oh, wait...

Honestly, I don't think white people can turn white people away from their thuggish ways. But I think white people can vote for politicians who support common-sense gun reform.

I don't hold them responsible for the individual killings as much as I hold them responsible for the collective total of guns floating around. They are the reason why we can't have sensible gun laws.

Why do I say that?

Facts

White people are the ONLY group in America who...

And you know what?

Common sense laws wouldn't just stop white supremacist terrorists and white mass shooters. It might also stop Black dudes from shooting up hospitals. There would also be fewer murders in Chicago and thugs in parking lots.

So, white people, what about Chicago?

But here's the thing I've learned.

White people are "white people" intolerant.

They love America, where EVERYTHING ON THE MENU automatically comes with racism. They slap it on politics, criminal justice, financial institutions, the educational system...It is the DEFAULT

So when they hear someone say: "no racism please," they ALWAYS SCREW UP THE ORDER.

And when we ask white people to add some common-sense gun laws, anti-hate legislation or just stop being so goddamned racist, they get mad because they aren't used to making the world that way

If you aren't going to condemn the unequal schools, the police violence, the access to guns, the income inequality, the redlining or the economic racism, I don't have to condemn that one guy who did that one thing that could've been prevented by the policies I SUPPORT.

But here's the thing about McDonalds and white people.

McDonald's employees will NEVER know how many burger orders they screw up.

By the time most people realize that Mcdonald's messed up their order, they are home (or too far to turn around for a $2 burger)

Not me. I go back

Half the time, they'll try to say that I AM THE ONE who forgot to tell them no cheese. Sometimes they'll even wonder why I'm so adamant about a damn $3 burger.

And a LOT of white people don't know how racist this country is. Most of us just eat it, even if it is less satisfying.

Most media outlets will NEVER turn around and tell white people how racist they are. Most white boys can't stand to hear how privileged they are. Most white women think they really "don't see color." So, when they hear it they either act like WE ARE THE ONES who are fucked up

Or they act like: "Why is this dude so obsessed with race?"

And, to be honest: I have no idea.

Then again, I'm not technically lactose intolerant. I have an allergy to milk that might not even be related to lactose. In fact, milk & cheese never actually make it to my stomach

I don't get the bubbleguts or need to use the bathroom My entire body rejects milk & cheese AS SOON AS I SWALLOW IT and spews it right back out immediately.

A couple of doctors have tried to figure it out. One said it is an allergy that probably has nothing to do with lactose

But I wasn't going through all that just to know WHY I can't eat cheese when I can just not eat cheese.

And white people don't necessarily care to know WHY this country is so racist as long as it can keep being racist.

People often tell me to try almond milk or oat milk

To be fair, they assume that I want to be cheese-eaters like everyone else because, instead of explaining that a crumb of cheese or a drop of milk makes me vomit out the contents of my stomach like a Roman candle on New Years Eve, I usually just say I'm "lactose intolerant."

I'm lactose intolerant like humans are bullet intolerant.

Like Republicans are common sense intolerant.

Like America is truth intolerant

Or, as a dude in a McDonalds Drive-thru once told me as I stared angrily at the idiotic suggestion that I just "scrape that shit off"...

Maybe I am just too OBSESSED with cheese